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Nice voice acting? Check. Nice graphics? Check. Massive lasers trying to destroy me? Crap. I've found CRYPTARK to be quite a good game.

Disclosure: I purchased it myself.

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Initial thoughts
It was ported day-1 to Linux thanks to Ethan “flibitijibibo” Lee and his excellent work with FNA, so I'm not surprised that it's working as well as it is. I've come across zero issues so far. He does note that the Linux version should be considered a W.I.P.

I'm actually finding it to be one of the most interesting action games I've played in quite a while. You're tasked with piloting a mech with an array of different weapons, and you need to infiltrate wrecked ships. You get upgrades, procedural generation, good looking enemies trying to take you down too. There's a big fracking laser turret in the first ship you board, and it was really quite awesome to look at (and blow up).

In each ship you need to destroy the AI core to complete the mission, but doing so isn't easy. There could be an number of enemies floating around, fixed turrets, shield generators and more. It's really quite fun to fly around and take them all out, all while collecting new weapons.

You will also need to overcome small traps, like entering in a specific sequence of keys to open something to carry on. This added something I didn't expect, and was really quite cool.

The voice acting is surprisingly great too, with my mechanic telling me "You're getting lit up like a light bulb" as I was taking a lot of damage, it really adds to the atmosphere of the game and I love it.

The customization aspect is decent too, as you get to try out the different weapons before you leave your ship. You can create some pretty fun combinations of weapons too, and I'm torn between a few.

Final thoughts: It's very cool, go buy it. I sank over 80 minutes in my first run, and very few indie games manage to capture my interest like that. It's by the guys who made Capsized, so I'm not surprised it looks as good as it does.

About the game (Official)
Cryptark is a 2D roguelike shooter that challenges players with boarding and neutralizing procedurally generated alien starships to earn income for their Privateering enterprise. Purchase improved equipment and weapons to tackle more dangerous targets, but be cautious as failure will result in a loss of investment and profit. The decaying alien arks will defend themselves from intruders with a wide arsenal of cyborg monstrosities, robotics, and security systems, all obstacles that must be surpassed to achieve victory, the destruction of the ship’s central System Core.

You can find CRYPTARK on Steam, but remember it's Early Access. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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3 comments

manus76 Oct 11, 2015
this actually looks pretty awesome...ever since Alien Breed games on the Amiga I've had a soft spot for this kind of top-down shooters.
N30N Oct 12, 2015
Looks interesting and co-op is on their roadmap. :)
lucifertdark Oct 12, 2015
I thought flibitijibibo had stopped porting games earlier this year? I'm glad to hear he's still around & working his magic for us Linux gamers. :D
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